From time to time, I like to talk about the homes I show during the day so that home sellers and home buyers know what it’s like out in the real estate marketplace in St. Louis.  It isn’t to scare anyone; it’s simply to educate you on how it goes and how you should prepare yourself for buying or selling your home in St. Louis.

Showing Mehlville Some Love

I have a buyer that is looking for a home with good value for the square footage.  The buyer is also looking for a place with easy access to highways for their job, and they don’t particularly care about the school district in comparison with home values.  Square footage, cheap, is the name of the game.

Having grown up in South County, I’ve always thought Mehlville sort of got a bad rap.  The houses are nice, the people are friendly.  Crime is low.  The biggest complaint about Mehlville is that the school district isn’t great, but I think that’s kind of unfair.  Mehlville gets compared to Lindbergh School District, and I’m not sure it’s a fair comparison.  Anyway, if home buyers are going to thumb their noses at Mehlville, more value for my buyers I guess.

We were scheduled to see four houses.  They were all in the Mehlville School District, and I think they were all within a quarter of a mile of each other.  All of the listing agents responded to me in a timely manner to confirm showings, and it was very much appreciated.  Here’s how our showings went.

House Number 1

House number one had great curb appeal.  The lawn was cut and the landscaping was tastefully done.  On entrance to the home, the lights had been left on for us.  There was a small, friendly dog in a crate.  The house was a little dated, but structurally it seemed very sound.  Any remodeling would be to improve finishes versus build or move walls.  There was hardwood flooring throughout, but unfortunately it was re done in some rooms and other rooms needed work.  The basement was unfinished, but the walls looked to be in excellent shape and there were no signs of cracks or water leaks.  In looking around the house, the neighbors also had their lawns cut, and there weren’t any eyesores around, as in boats or cars that hadn’t run for years.  This was a solid home and a solid showing for sure.

House Number 2

House number 2 was what I call a fix n flip.  I am always suspect of fix n flips, and here’s why.  Someone left the house in complete ruins, and now someone who doesn’t know anything about the house has come in and made repairs to the issues they know of, but they don’t know all of the issues because they haven’t lived in the house.  Also, the repairs are usually done for as little as possible, with no warranty after buyer buys the house.  This could lead to a disaster in the future.  Anyway, as we arrived, the front yard was a mess.  They had obviously gotten rid of the trees in the front yard, but hadn’t bothered to use sod or anything to cover the large, brown, and uneven patches.  Some of the driveway had been redone, but the sidewalk hadn’t and it would have to be done at some point soon because it was a trip hazard.  Upon entry, there was wood look vinyl plank flooring throughout the entire home.  That wouldn’t have been so bad, but there were obvious bumps or pieces of dirt below the floor that were causing humps to form in places.  In one area, the flooring had been installed incorrectly and then glued.  We were ready to leave at that point, but since we were there we went to the basement.  When I looked out to the backyard, I noticed the grading was straight into the house.  It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this home at some point had serious foundation leaking issues.  We walked along the wall on the inside of the house and right at the steps, you could see the Kevlar patches.  This indicates some significant foundation work, and my buyer wasn’t comfortable because most of the work would be behind the drywall.

We also noticed a lot of air fresheners in the basement.  Usually, this is an indication of trying to mask the musty smell often found in basements where there are still water issues.  As a buyer, you have to ask yourself, “What am I to gain by purchasing this home over the others in this price range?”  That’s the issue.  Sure, a lot of work had been done, but it was done poorly.  And that is the work you could see!  This house was an easy pass.

House Number 3

If the current average time to sell a home from when it is listed is around 15 days, what do you suppose is the point in going to a home that hasn’t sold for a year?  Well, it was in my buyer’s price range, and it was close to other homes we were looking at, so why not?  The third home was dated and had improvements that didn’t make any sense.  For one, the living room had been taken up by a fireplace.  Fireplaces are nice, but not when they take up the whole room.  The kitchen had never been remodeled since the house was built.  There was shag carpet that hasn’t been in style since the early 70’s.  The house was built in the 60’s and I believe the original furnace is still in the home today.  Bedrooms were small.  The backyard was huge, but the neighbors had about 15 of those toy cars that you pedal.  I don’t know what to make of this house.  It’s obviously priced wrong, but I don’t know what the listing agent was thinking.  After all, pricing homes for sale can be difficult.  I feel like the price was close to 50 thousand dollars too high given all of the needed repairs and updates, and that might be a low number.

House Number 4

House number 4 was an interesting home.  There were lots of updates throughout.  Each room was clean and the furniture size was appropriate for the rooms.  There was an odd half wall on entry, not sure what the point of it was.  There was a pool in the back that had been maintained.  There was also a very nice patio with an aluminum shade.  You could definitely picture entertaining guests in the back yard.  The bedrooms were of good size.  The basement had been completely tiled with a nice wide tile, and there were two additional rooms besides a large game room, if you will.  The house didn’t suit my buyer but it was easy to see that someone would buy it soon.

The Takeaway

We looked at 4 houses within a quarter of a mile of each other.  2 of the houses could be purchased at any time, and the other 2 were atrocious.  The asking price difference between all of them was $10,000.  Think about that!  There must be some incorrect pricing attributable to houses number 2 and 3.  This is one of the reasons why you should look to purchase a home in a price range versus up to a number.  For instance, I am looking for a home within $25,000 of 175,000, versus I am looking at a home for 175,000.  When we look at prices of milk at the grocery store, usually, same type of milk, the prices are very similar across retailers.  Homes for sale aren’t like that.  There is a wide array of pricing considerations and that range gives you the best chance to find the home of your dreams quickly.

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